Home are the sailors

Home is the sailor, home from sea:
Her far-borne canvas furled
The ship pours shining on the quay
The plunder of the world.

A.E. Houseman

The sailing course is over and we had a good flight home on Saturday. When we stepped back into winter in Grand Rapids we knew not to complain about a few days of chilly weather in Florida. The bright side of the fronts that moved through St. Pete is that they brought plenty of wind and some of the best sailing we have had in the 3 times we've taught this course. We didn't return with plunder (although Abigail and Devin gave a wonderfully entertaining presentation on pirates), but we returned with 20 new sailors, some of whom improved on prior skills and others who were introduced to an entirely new experience. Everyone in the class was successful in meeting the goals of the Eckerd College Advanced Sailing Course.

The staff at Eckerd was most impressed with this group of students because of their friendly personalities, good attitudes and genuine interest in learning to sail. Scott and I want to thank the class for being good representives Calvin College and making our teaching so enjoyable.

:(

With only a few sweet hours left in Florida, this post will be short.

The bottom line is that I do not want to leave tomorrow. God teased us the last two days with amazing sunny weather after previous chilliness and based on the deep redness of all our faces, we enjoyed it too much.

I have been dreading for the last 2 1/2 weeks that this day would creep up on us and it being here is just as sad as I thought it would be. I will forever treasure the friendships I made on this trip and the experiences we had together sailing, socializing, relaxing, exploring, singing, laughing, and relishing in the wonderfulness (yes it's a word) of this interim.

Without further adieu, I am going to go soak up the last few moments with people I have come to adore!

nuclear manatees and fj insanity.

This past weekend, we invested into learning about Florida's wildlife. While the Mote Marine Aquarium was a fantastic introduction to Floridian aquatic life, I think the most disturbing event of the day was traveling to a "Manatee Viewing Center" outside of St. Petersburg. Here, I expected to encounter a serene, isolated inlet where manatees could bask in the sun and silence, free from the influences of the outside world. As we were nearing the location, however, I noticed a few large smokestacks in the distance indicative of a power plant, and I was flabbergasted to realize that we happened to be heading right for these behemoth belchers of pollution. Once arrived, we opened our van doors not to the soothing sounds of a quiet pond but the incessant clinking and churning clamor of a power plant. In what felt like a surreal episode of LOST (another Dharma Initiative experiment gone horribly awry?), I hesitantly approached the power plant to find a modestly-sized reservoir of water simply packed with the bobbing masses that signify a manatee's presence--I heard counts of 30 or more. Apparently the warm-water discharge from the plant attracts these indolent creatures to its front porch, and the plant has hospitably offered to host their guests. Despite the plant's innocuous acquisition of their friends, such a juxtaposition of nature and industry seemed to me in some ways the epitome of man's desecration of the earth.

In all fairness, the viewing center seemed quite aware of and concerned for the health and wellbeing of their manatee denizens--indeed, they argue that their balmy home is much safer than places such as the nearby Boca Ciega bay, where manatees face treacherous boat traffic, nefarious propellers, and limited opportunities for food and fresh water. And those belching smokestacks I was concerned about earlier turned out to be emitting nothing more than water vapor. Supposedly. Perhaps I am too much of a malcontent, but in any case, I've had two menacing dreams since about genetically mutated manatees that glow in the dark and have come to take over the world.

The towers that release "water vapor."

Gazing out on the manatees.

Monday, then, brought us back into the realm of sailing. It wasn't just any other day of meandering in keelboats, however, but the pinnacle of our competitive sailing experience, as we embarked on our very official (read: not official at all) FJ regatta. The key to winning a regatta is your start. The officials indicate when there are three minutes remaining before the race begins and smaller increments as it approaches. Meanwhile, the boats are all sailing around the starting line, attempting to block other boats, to avoid hitting other boats, and to cruise past the starting line at impressive speed just as the officials blow their whistles. This in itself is a stressful process, rendered even more so by instructors growling commands at you muffled by the wind so that you can't hear or understand them anyway. Once again, we sailing neophytes picked up on the habit of cussing (and trust me, in such conditions I can almost certainly assure you that you would have, too) that resulted in some pretty hilarious altercations that I just wish I could repeat on this blog.

We raced seven heats in all, and by the end I was one big bruise, after collapsing into the hull of the boat following one-too-many roll tacks and catching the boom with my head too many times to remember after such cranial trauma. And as the second law of thermodynamics led us to expect, the day devolved into entropy, with rules being reiterated and protestations arguing fouls and disdainful if-looks-could-kill expressions flying about the room until, finally, the ever-candid Patty broke through the cacophony and exasperatedly yelled, "Just someone tell me when can I EAT?!" which awakened the latent appetites of these tired sailors, halting all arguments and sending us in a horde toward the dining hall. Food, of course, revived us from our fatigue, as did our spirited renditions of the day's events.

Today is expected to be the coldest day of Florida's winter, so we have taken the morning off to salvage our digits and to relish in the inauguration excitement. Gobama!

photos from the last few days...

I like these hand rails...Friday
A breezy sailing day east of the bridge.

Abigail, me, and PattiAbigail, Devin, and Chrysta eating yummy raw oysters at PJ's.

Sunday
Seagulls chasing Chrysta's jerk chicken and Derek frolicking on his birthday.
Playing volleyball on Pass-a Grille beach.

Monday
FJ Racing day :)

More racing!!

A beautiful Friday

Yesterday was Friday, our 9th day of sailing, and the sunshine returned. It was still a bit brisk for Florida, but in the afternoon we could wear lightweight jackets and even some short sleeves. The wind was a steady 10-12 mph with a 1 foot chop and and some white caps on Tampa Bay, enough for an exciting ride. I taught on the Watkins 27 for the first time. It's an older, small cruiser and I was impressed by how quick it is and how well it sails up wind for a boat of its weight and design. It handles a fairly strong breeze very comfortably, and the students enjoy sailing it. You can see it in the foreground of the 2nd picture of the "pictures from john" post.

The students are progressing very well. They generally know the basics and are working on the nuances of sail trim to make the boats sail as efficiently and quickly as possible.

frigid sailing.

It is officially winter in Florida. Considering the plight of our Michigan brethren suffering from single-digit temperatures, I really should be thankful for anything above 32, but today's chilly 55 degrees had me in a nasty mood. Yesterday's ominous forecast turned out to be sunny t-shirt weather once again, so everyone figured that today would be the same. Instead, today was overcast, windy, and depressingly cold. Our morning session on the water had all of us shivering, and by the time we docked for lunch, I could no longer bend my fingers and had to resort to beating the mainsail down with my frozen hands.

Lunchtime allowed us a quick trip back to the hotel to supplement our layers, and mine totaled six shirts and jackets, three pairs of pants, and three pairs of socks (has my blood really thinned that much in the span of ten days?). Sacrificing agility for warmth (I couldn't really bend my arms, but I could feel them--much more important), I finally felt adequately ready to face the weather once again. The wind continued, and because of it we had a spectacular day of sailing with our warmer vestments to ward off the cold. As helmsperson, I did my best to channel the sailing spirit by sounding remarkably stern every once and awhile, and attempted to bellow instructions at my crew ("TRIM THAT JIB" or "CENTER THAT TRAVELER") with some hearty "arrrr"s at the end, but everyone just stared at me skeptically and lightly adjusted whatever I had suggested. I'm still mastering the whole intimidation thing.

Andrew, Rachelle, and Professor Ubels

Capt. Richard--in the yellow--and the Catalina (and as a sensible English major, I cannot handle its name)

Arguing about where to have dinner (quite heated).

At the end of the day, Professor Vander Linde remarked that today's escapades resembled a typical day of sailing on Lake Michigan. With that, I think the majority of our class swore off sailing in Lake Michigan in their lifetimes. Here's hoping for warmth and thawed appendages by tomorrow.

Subtle Joys of Life

Another splendid day! Our adventure began with a hardy breakfast at the dining hall on campus. Our minds are continually stretched with new material every day. In class we discussed Quick Stop Overboard Recovery, a new technique for rescuing crew having fallen off the boat. For our practical morning session on the water we attempted to practice this new technique with little wind (ergo, ipso facto, therefore....no reefs in the main sail). There were many a dolphin playing and eating (yesterday there were several copulating off the port bow).

Lunch!

The afternoon classroom session explicated powering down the sails. The idea is that in stronger wind, having full sails up would not only be bad for the sail (too much tension can damage or shred the sail completely) but also puts the crew in danger of excessive heeling (the boat leaning over). Powering down the sails (putting a reef in) enables a sloop to sail safely in stronger winds. Our practical sessions usually try to practice what we learned in the classroom, however light winds in the afternoon left much to be desired. Many boats were navigating under power (a small outboard motor) and discovered a plethora of dolphin activity near a local bridge. Oh the excitement in the air. With about an hour left in our sailing expedition, the wind began to pick up and our attentions turned back to powering down the sails. Having practiced this (and some impromptu practice freeing a keel from the shallow muck of the bay) we sailed back into our place of berth at the Eckerd College Water Front. A quick wrap-up session later and we were done for the day.

Dinner!

Days continue to increase in excitement. I can't wait to learn more about sailing, meet new people, and...maybe...totally enjoy the beautiful weather after hearing about my amazing brother's university canceling class due to the forecast of a -40 degree wind chill. That's too cold to think about (as I look out of the hotel window and see the two outdoor pools and palm trees).

Cheers!

The AMAZING Girls

Oh Scotty


ADORABLE


Abigail Looking Amazing

sailing nostalgia.

As I hesitantly climbed out of bed this morning at approximately 7:54am, I could already hear my fellow seafarers clamoring outside Samantha's and my room.  The last few mornings have been getting later and later; my roommate and I seem to enjoy the thrill of mere minutes to prepare ourselves for another day promising adventure.  Anything we can do for an extra 3 minutes of sleep is well worth the effort, trust me.  Clumsily I made it to the bathroom, and looking into the mirror I noted countless veiny purple bruises, elongated red welts, and a few cuts and scraps here and there.

 

I smiled and clenched my fist in victory.  Oh, the solid evidence of success, complete with scars to prove it.  Without question, these battle wounds may be accredited to our lesson of roll tacking just the day before.  As Devin so carefully detailed in his entry and Nikki so persistently demanded in the video clip, this activity tests the agility of any "crew," threatening capsize if done incorrectly.  Samantha and Scott proved this statement a time or two, which definitely set a few teams on edge that chilled, cloudy morning.  My partner Andrew and I tested our limits from time to time, but ended the day pumped, full of anticipation for our next chance on the FJ's and any opportunity to "Beat Your Buddy."  By the end of our all-too-short afternoon on the "Flying Juniors," each team had built up the stamina to race and bad mouth every opponent.  This isn't the end-- I'm sure such things will greaten by this Friday when we once again rig and crew our tiny little dinghies. 

 

The course of this interim has been a wonderful experience.  Such a great group of people was smattered together, each with their own personality, interests and major.  It's going to sound stereotypical, maybe even a professor's dream, but everyone gets along.  Seriously.  At nights we relax away the stress of tacking and jibing in the hot tub, making friends with the security guards who have eased up on the open hours and let us stay after close a few times, warning us to "just keep your voices down."

 

Together we have sailed, accidently jibed, tangled masts on FJ's in a rat's nest of about 6 dinghies, whined through rainy weather, hummed a few sailor tunes, and capsized.  Somehow in this little haven of January paradise we have managed to keep up with our studies, acing our not-so-pop quiz last Friday, playing the wind game to practice our wind directions, and reading "Dove" on the sunny beaches of St. Petersburg.  In our free time, we've explored this touristy town, acquainting ourselves with everyone from father-like cabdrivers to the little old man who eagerly waits for the bus on his walker every morning outside of his house.  The restaurants dish up the freshest of local seafoods and specialties such as Spanish tapas and modern Italian fanfare.  With the rain this afternoon, the crew was granted an easily-welcomed day of rest.  About half took the spare time to tour the Dahli museum, an oddly extensive yet much appreciated collection of about 2,200 works as close to us as downtown St. Pete, 20 minutes at most.  

 Hardly more than a week into our adventure and already I'm talking too much.  It has been a wearing day, so I'll leave you all with a few (okay, maybe a few more) pictures from throughout the course of the trip thus far.  Sleep well, all.  Tomorrow morning will come soon enough.    

Annica and Chrysta canoeing at Myakka

Devin and Annica enjoying the tapas at Ceviche!

Sail terms to know:  box pulley system on the boom vang, starboard jib sheet, self-tailing winch, a keelboat :)

Greg after a long day of sailing

The Newport and the Colgate heading on a close hull down the bay

The sticker passes to get in the exhibit lined up outside on the docks

A small fleet of the FJ's and their crew teams

Playing the game "Beat Your Buddy," a moderately sophisticated version of Chicken for dinghies
Annica and Derek playing M.A.S.H. on the ride home from Pass-A-Grille Beach

A bicycle graveyard near the Wallace Boathouse at Eckerd College

Here are a few more pictures of the Sunday morning sunrise, sailing FJs and a big gator at Myakka.

The cold snap up north is affecting us a bit too. The high was 68 today, and its funny to see Floridians all bundled up while we are in shorts and t-shirts. For the next few days the high will be about 63 so we may have to wear a fleece or sweat shirt, but the sun will shine. It will be windy, and now that the students are experienced sailors we may be able to get some photos that are more action packed.

dolphins, dali, and dove...

We saw 7000 dolphins today. Seriously. They were everywhere. The bay was crystal clear, like a mirror, with hardly any wind...a gorgeous calm day. We all practiced anchoring for a long time as well. At one point we rafted off of each other (tied all the boats together in a line) and jumped from one boat to the next for some relaxed social time. Protocol is to ask the captain of the boat which you want to board "Permission to board?" Until they say, "Permission GRANTED!" you cannot go aboard. So we all granted each other permission, of course. Though it was overcast and uneventful, it was still an enjoyable morning...After an intense day on the water yesterday, Chrysta remarked that because of the incredibly calm weather this morning, "God does answer prayers."

Lots of rain came (it smelled great), so we left campus after lunch.

A group of us went to the Salvador Dali museum in St. Petersburg which was an incredible exhibit. I freaking love art. Devin will further comment :)

After dinner we discussed a book about a 16 year old kid who sailed a 24 foot boat all the way around the world. We talked about chapters 1-6 and it took a lonnnnnnng time. But there were funny comments.

Scott (my crazy father) said: "Lee and Pattie, after banging around in the blue lagoon..." The rest of this comment was lost in the noise because of the eruption of laughter...

Then Scott Zeilstra said, "Lee was forced to be a seaman after he came to a solution..." OH MY.

Ok. The end. More later.

roll tacking, the sequel.

I am exhausted. Today's sailing experience exacted all of my mental and physical energy. I know that Annica already posted about the unbelievable phenomenon of roll tacking, but seriously, folks, it really is such a big deal that it warrants a few more posts. I have pulled, jumped, ducked, grabbed, and grunted more times than I can count.

Instead of rambling on, though, today I think I'll just let you see what we're experiencing here for yourselves. Here's a video of Nicki, senior at Eckerd, member of Eckerd's sailing team, and assuredly the meanest student instructor we have, explaining roll tacking in class today. Don't be fooled by her petite size--Nicki has been sailing competitively since the 4th grade and eats newbie sailor-types like us for breakfast. This is the woman who heckles us on the water, hollers humiliating names at us, and forces us to do push-ups if we ever let go of the tiller. Yet we all inexplicably love and adore her nonetheless. Seriously--when we see her in the dining hall, we are prone to wave animatedly and yelp her name like elementary school kids at summer camp fawning over their camp counselor.

If everything she says in this video flies over your head, don't be surprised; we certainly felt the same way.

aground

The students have now spent 5 days on the water and all the instructors are very impressed with the progress they have made. As Annica said, we ventured into some new areas today that required reading charts and following channel markers. Tampa Bay is very shallow, with an average depth of only 14 feet, so there are many places where you can't go in a sailboat. Before a student gets to it, I will announce that today my boat was the first in the course to go aground. I briefly forgot that the channel marking system on the intercoastal waterway is different and directed the helmsman, Craig, to the wrong side of a green marker. There is no room for error at that spot and we immediately fell that sickening bump, bump, bump of the keel on soft sand, followed by a complete loss of headway. I, of course, turned it into a teachable moment, since on Tampa Bay there are only 2 kinds of sailors: those who have gone aground and those who are not telling the truth. We adjusted the sails so that the boat spun nearly into the wind, piled all 5 crew onto the side of the boat away from the wind, leaned out as far as we could, tipping the boat enough to give Jon Mott a wet butt, and with another sail adjustment we felt a reassuring bump, bump as the boat sailed off the sand and into the channel. Don't worry, those of you on other boats who were laughing, you too will have your teachable moment.

roll tacking

Today we learned how to read charts (my most recent desire is to put one on my wall because they are so visually appealing to me), spent the morning in the keelboats (sailing by way of the chanels that go through shallow water), and in the afternoon sailed FJ's again (something I was very excited about)! Weather looked uncertain, but we finally decided to go out...somehow Florida's yucky days (cloudy and 65 degrees) are still amazing.

As soon as we got off the dock in the FJ's, we promptly undertook the art of roll tacking. This is an exciting, dynamic method of turning the boat into the wind and onto a new course using fast shifts in body weight. This basically boils down to both skipper and crew throwing their full weight over one side of the boat while turning upwind (this heels the boat WAY over to one side and changes the direction). After turning, you have to jump (quickly) to the other side to even out...before you flip over.

After lots of practice (when we should have been sailing in a hot dog around bouys...oops) Derek and I finally felt really comfortable with the roll tack. A great accomplishment and another great day!

To see a video of roll tacking, go to this website:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBivxKxbB3A

Hooray.

Day Seven

One full week. Wow. Time flies with the absence of 2 feet of snow. Today began especially well with a 10am call time rather than a bleary-eyed 8am. Prof Ubels began our morning with a mind-stretching discussion on Christianity and Leisure. As Christians, how do we view play? How should we feel about it? What is acceptable for us as Christians to participate in for our play/leisure time? Having all read up on the subject, the conversation stirred us to take a closer look at what we do for leisure and whether it edifies others and glorifies Christ. Many of us were hit by the topic. All of us participate in play and leisure to some extent but never really thought about it. At first glance, Christianity and leisure seem to be incomensurable. Many believe that Christians should live a sacrificail life where all efforts are directed toward the glorification of God. However, GOD RESTED! He tolied for 6 days creating the universe, but on that 7th day, he say back in his easy chair, put up the foot rest, and (I'm sure) watched some Scrubs to mellow out. As Christ followers, we need joy in our lives and rest. It's not a suggestion. God wants us to rest and play. And I say, "Thats cool God. If you really want me to, I guess I'll take a load off." Following this, Prof VanderLinde lead us in some great praise & worship right next to the pool. What a great start to the day!

Then...off to the beach. We all piled into the vans and headed to a local beach where fun and excitment were plentiful. Several of us walked along to a beach side bazzar where local artists and craftmakers exhibited their works for sale. It was a very exciting and truly "floridian". Continuing on our merry way, we stopped and got some really delicious ice cream considering the balmy 78 degrees. On the walk back to our beach spot, Devin and others were intently looking for great sea shells. It was a great walk.

Dinner was super, scrumptious, and sustiaining for our long week of sailing ahead. Tomorrow we will be learning about the onboard radios in the morning. In the afternoon, we will be on the FJs (flying juniors) again doing some more advanced capsizing techniques while getting more experiance with tacking and jibing. I can't wait!

Many of the group went out after dinner to do some laundry. Great times were had by all. A few of the group (Annica, Abigail, and Chrysta) went downtown for some italian food and excitment. Others got some pizza becasue no matter how good, its still dining hall food. I can't wait for the next two weeks. I have never felt so in tune with myself. I have not felt this connection with God in a very long time. The peace and serenity I feel cannot be described. I hope that the next 14 days will pass as slow as molasses in the unbearable cold that is Grand Rapids.

pictures from john...err, professor ubels.

Never having ventured to take out my camera whilst sailing, I have no bona fide photos of the activity about which we all talk incessantly. Professor Ubels, however, being the seasoned seafarer that he his, has managed to catch us in action. Here are a few of his pictures:

Practicing heaving the line, for search-and-rescue purposes.

On the keelboats.

First day on the FJs: Rigging,

sailing,

...and capsizing.

fantastic florida feelings...

Thank you to the lovely boys in Room 116 who have so kindly started and maintained this blog!

It seems as if the activities that this group has been involved in are being well articulated and updated in this blog. So, I'll change it up a bit...

I will talk about my feelings over the past week. :)

When we arrived in Florida on Monday, I was exhausted (after having arrived at the Grand Rapids airport at 5:30am running on less than 3 hours of sleep). However, I was ecstatic in anticipation for what was to come! It was a gorgeous day...seventy some degrees. It probably helped that I convinced myself prior to departure that the weather would be in the forty's all month (to ensure I would not be disappointed). To top it off, we ate lunch at Chipotle--does it get better than that?! Arrival at the hotel and our first time at Eckerd College was wonderful as well. Everything (including the dining hall food) was better than expected.

During our first week in St. Petersburg, I (over and over) had overwhelming feelings of peace and joy. Sounds cliché, but last week, at the end of each day, I could not help but be immersed by the surroundings and activities we have been given the opportunity to be a part of. It really does not get any better than sailing all day in the sun, reflecting on God's creation, building relationships with amazing people, eating at amazing restaurants in downtown St. Petersburg, hot tubbing after dinner, evening running, and having nothing but the breeze to worry about.

I have also thoroughly enjoyed the sailing terminology jokes and conversations that have become a regular part of our dialogue. Especially when we are driving our twelve passenger vans, a little car cuts us off on the on-ramp, and someone shouts “STARBOARD! We have the right of way!” Simply warms my heart…‘tis wonderful.

So…I love being here…I love the gorgeous weather, the marvelous people, the great hotel, the SAILBOATS, the seamen (and women) jokes, the creative games, and the endless laughs. Ahhh…(sigh of contentment).

Pictures anyone?

Devin, Abigail, Annica, and Chrysta on the way to Ceviche (an amazing Tapas Resturaunt)

Practicing Nautical Knots in the Classroom

Professor Scotty (my dad!)

Scott's Thursday Crew: Rachel, Patty, Annica, and Ben

Captain Richard's boat on Thursday: Craig, Stacey, Derek, and Andrew